Nerfing Group Map encounters (without really nerfing them)

[edge2054]

Large groups tend to move more slowly then a single person would. More stops for bathroom breaks, they'd take more time to stop and eat, etc. etc.

They also tend to be more distracted (more noise going on, more footsteps, people talking, etc.)

So the suggestion is to lower the movement speed of all groups on the world map to 0.8 (orc ambushes, adventuring parties, and all friendly patrols) and possibly reduce their vision radius.

This will make the encounters more avoidable without making them any easier when you do encounter them. In other words they'll become more like opt in encounters so if they kill you, well it's your own fault

[Elkan]

Can we have some random non violent encounters (maybe fallout style ones) you could have thing like say, a couple of temporal wardens chewing out a Chronomancer who has been pushing the timestream a little hard. Maybe he could be called Kirk, maybe he could have "Seventeen separate violations! Seventeen!"

and possibly some opt in encounters you can walk away form or take part in likea shaloren hunting party going after some bears, a group of dwarves on iron throne business off to take down a dragon and its hoard, perhaps you can assist in the dragonslaying for a modest reward, take out the dwarves and receive a trinket from the gratified wyrm, or wipe out everyone and take all the loot, and run off cackling into the distance...

[Rectifier]

Seconding edge's idea.

[Sirrocco]

I've thought for some time that adventurer parties should be an opt-in fight. They're cranked up to be high-level player-killers in a way that nothing else is capable of, and having the "attack vs chat peacefully" option would perhaps clue newbies in a bit better that maybe *this* monster should be left alone at first. Also, when playing roguelike, the fact that the most dangerous place to be eventually is the overland map in the east? It just seems a tch wrong.

[Aquillion]

Honestly, why are there huge numbers of adventurers in the west running around attacking people at random? I never understood that.

If they didn't attack automatically, but instead opened a menu with some options (and wording that warned about how dangerous they are) that would be better. They could even, perhaps, offer other things -- they could trade with you, or whatever. Though that might be spammable / farmable. Hmm. They could charge a hefty markup. One problem is that late-game gold becomes a bit irrelevant for everyone but dwarves (and for them too once they hit their bonus cap.)

[bricks]

Another, perhaps more appealing option is to make some mid-ranged encounters for the wild so it's not full of Brownian motion adventurer parties. Kind of like what Elkan said, but on a less grand scale. The wolves/drakes/bears are totally trivial; you can spend more time on the loading screens than fighting them. Solitary necromancers (with appropriate undead army), orc scouting parties (after returning west), thief parties, snake hoards (oh god!), more-than-single dragons. Zigur hunting parties if you sided with the Grand Corrupter. Rogue archmages (pyro/cryo/geomancers, tempests). Groups of elementals (we don't find those often enough!).

Bigger maps/more cover would also be nice. Perhaps twice the current size, with a fuzzy circle clearing.

Random thought: cunning score improves initial positioning.
Random thought 2: Adventurer parties have destinations and will leave the map if they encounter a dungeon entrance. Crowding around the Sandworm Lair is a huge problem.

[tiger_eye]

I like yufra's idea here for hostile adventure parties:

http://forums.te4.org//viewtopic.php?f= ... 92&start=6


And edge2054's idea here for friendly parties:

http://forums.te4.org//viewtopic.php?f=39&t=27433

[Frumple]

Honestly, why are there huge numbers of adventurers in the west running around attacking people at random? I never understood that.

The same reason you generally run around attacking them. Parts acquisition. They're after alchemist ingredients, and they're looking for them the same way you do.

There's a guild of alchemists. Just because you've done one quest doesn't mean the rest of the alchies in the world suddenly close down shop! There's a booming economy of murder and harvesting going on in the background. All those runes and infusions have to come from somewhere, after all.

Remember that well. The regen, heal, or shield inscription you're using is probably made at least in part of someone's character. Of, mind you. Not by.

[darkgod]

AHAHAH